Meta Description: Television affects children mentally and physically. Children who tend to watch more television are less inclined to go outside and play.
TV Should Be Limited
Television is a huge part of today's world. A special brief in New York City was held by the American Medical Association to alert parents/guardians about the well-proven connection between obesity and watching Tv. While watching television, children usually have a habit of eating something, which results in an accumulation of calories, as kids are just staring at the TV and not doing any physical activity. The metabolic rate of our bodies is slower when we watch TV than when we are just resting. If a person is watching TV he would burn fewer calories.
According to Jane Healy, PhD, watching a lot of television has a huge negative impact on the reading skills of young children. If children are more prone to watching TV, their reading, studying, playing, and creative skills will be adversely affected, which also negatively affect a child's academics.
Various TV ads motivate unhealthy food items, which contain high amounts of sugar, unhealthy fats, and no vitamins or nutrients. TV is full of commercials and programs that demonstrate risky behaviours that can affect kids' psyche. The ads of smoking are banned, yet children and teenagers can look at the scene of smoking in many programs and movies on television.
The first couple of years is very crucial for a child's brain development. The time spent on TV can snatch away the time utilised for exploring, playing, and other activities vital for normal development.
Real Life Is Different From The Life On Screen
Television watched moderately is good, but parents should consistently keep a check on what their child is viewing. Their mind is the first thing that has an impact. Anything wrong shown on the TV is difficult to remove from their impressionable minds, and their regular life suffers a lot. Some children have to wear spectacles due to the weakening of their eyesight. Some do not complete their homework and instead watch TV.
In movies and films, life is shown easily without any burden or worries. But in reality, life is different. Children begin to think that life is like movies—hassle-free. Thus, this induces frustration at a later phase. The gap between reality and dream increases, which creates disillusionment. TV provides a climate that is far more away from real life.
When children watch violence, like fighting in movies, dacoities, robbery, and wars, it creates a really bad impression on a child's mind. When children watch violence on TV, they watch it differently than in cartoons, dramas, or films. Parents should control the hours of their TV viewing, and try to send them outside the house to playgrounds or parks so that the child can be active. If a child watches TV while doing homework, the child cannot concentrate on their studies, which can lead to poor academic performance. Children show a lack of interest in studies, but have an interest in watching cartoons and TV programs, which hugely impacts their lives, as well their future.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Mention the dangerous aspects of television.
- Television discourages reading habits.
- Watching TV for more than 4 hours a day can affect academics.
- Television interferes with conversation time.
- Kids become physically inactive.
- The violence shown on TV can affect the thinking of children about life, people, and relations.
- What actions should parents take to prevent TV addiction?
Try to develop children’s interest in sports, hobbies, music, dance, etc. Limit the time of TV viewing hours to two hours or less per day. Always switch off the television during meals. Make a habit of first completing the homework and extra activities before watching TV. Don't place the TV in your child's bedroom because this can allow them to watch TV anytime.
- How can watching television affect a kid's social development?
Too much amount of time spent on television can threaten the usual conversation of the family, or the time kids spend playing outside with their friends. Because of this, a child's social development also weakens by decreasing the number of conversations between them and their family and friends.
- Is television bad for a child's health?
Watching television can adversely affect the physical activity of children. Inactivity is associated with heart disease and obesity. Watching too much television can create high risks of causing type 2 diabetes and obesity.
- What changes are observed in the behaviour of a child who is more prone to watching television?
Children who are more prone to watch TV are more likely to be suffering from obesity and aggressiveness depending on the content that they watch.
